China’s Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)said on Thursday that it has detected the new mutated pox, mpox, strain clade Ib as the viral infection spreads to more countries.
This is coming after the World Health Organization, WHO, declared pox a global public health emergency last year.
WHO maintains that Mpox spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. Although usually mild, it can be fatal in rare cases.
Reportedly, the outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But the clade Ib variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
The variant has spread from DRC to neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the emergency declaration from the WHO.
In August last year, China said it would monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox. The country’s National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.
However, Chinese health authorities reported that it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection of a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In its latest report, the China CDC said that human metapneumovirus (hMPV), a common respiratory infection, remains at high levels.
Flu activity across the country is expected to gradually decline in mid-to-late January, the report said.
The patients’ symptoms are mild, including rashes and blisters, the CDC said. The patients and others who are at risk of infection are receiving medical treatment or are under observation.
The new strain has been spreading across several African countries, affecting mainly children and adolescents. Infections have spilled over from Africa to other continents, including Europe and North America.
The US reported its first case of clade I mpox in November, but reassured the public the risk remained “very low”. In Asia, the variant has also been detected in countries like Thailand and India.
Unlike an earlier milder strain that erupted in 2022 and spread primarily through men who have sex with men, the current variant is spreading through all kinds of sexual activity and other close physical contact.
Asian countries from China to Indian and Pakistan — many of which are densely populated — have beefed up surveillance of infections. Travelers from affected countries were being asked to self-report symptoms and hospitals were on alert for suspected cases.
After the WHO raised the alert levels on mpox, China has begun asking travelers from affected regions, those who have been in contact with mpox patients or individuals experiencing symptoms to self-report to customs officials upon entry, where they may undergo testing.
